covid-19 leaves behind widows, bereft children, shaken neighbourhoods — their beloved stolen, like bill land, or just “billy” to his legion of friends.
he is being mourned this week in the winding streets around owl park, his hunt club home-base, where he was known as a super hockey dad, longtime coach, community volunteer, incorrigible kidder.
a self-employed tech specialist, he came down with a mild stomach ache on march 29 and, by may 19, his wife stephanie, 51, was at the university of ottawa heart institute facing the excruciating prospect of stopping life support.
“today, i heard his heart beat for the last time,” she wrote in an online post.
“and my heart broke — it is broken for our two boys who will not grow up with their dad, for his siblings who have lost the youngest of 7, for his giant group of friends who lost their buddy, their “brother”, and for me, who lost the love of my life, my husband and best friend.”
it has been a beastly time for the family. stephanie’s father, michael king, 82, died april 28.
in an interview, she said bill, 52, was careful to follow public health guidelines and was only days away from vaccine eligibility when he picked up a variant of the virus, which also infected her and one of their two children.